U.S. patent number 7,058,508 [Application Number 09/759,945] was granted by the patent office on 2006-06-06 for automated building service broker.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Energy Control Technologies. Invention is credited to Richard Combs, Walter Flugel.
United States Patent |
7,058,508 |
Combs , et al. |
June 6, 2006 |
Automated building service broker
Abstract
An automated building service broker can include a Global
Positioning System (GPS) data processor for processing GPS data
associated with communicatively linked service providers wherein
the GPS data corresponds to a geographic position. The automated
service broker also can include an event handler for responding to
maintenance and repair events received from communicatively linked
building systems. Finally, the automated building service broker
can include a service provider selector for selecting a particular
service provider to respond to a particular received maintenance
and repair event received from a particular communicatively linked
building system. More particularly, the service provider can be
selected based on whether the selected service provider is suitable
to perform required maintenance and repair on the particular
communicatively linked building system, and the geographic position
of the particular service provider relative to the particular
building system as reported by GPS data associated with the
particular service provider.
Inventors: |
Combs; Richard (Plantation,
FL), Flugel; Walter (Boca Raton, FL) |
Assignee: |
Energy Control Technologies
(Fort Lauderdale, FL)
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Family
ID: |
25057550 |
Appl.
No.: |
09/759,945 |
Filed: |
January 12, 2001 |
Prior Publication Data
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Document
Identifier |
Publication Date |
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US 20020095323 A1 |
Jul 18, 2002 |
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Current U.S.
Class: |
701/484;
705/7.14 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G06Q
10/063112 (20130101); G06Q 10/06 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G01C
21/00 (20060101); G06F 17/00 (20060101) |
Field of
Search: |
;705/7-9 ;707/101
;701/213-214 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
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11158232 |
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Jun 1999 |
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JP |
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11335020 |
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Dec 1999 |
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JP |
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11335021 |
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Dec 1999 |
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JP |
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Other References
"SnapTrack and US West Wireless demonstrate location technology
created to meet phase II requirements of the FCC's enhanced 911
mandate", Aug. 1998; RCR Radio Communications Report, v 17, n 34,
p. 23; Dialog File 01626989. cited by examiner .
Kuperberg "Cooper Square uses technology to enhance residential
management"; Mar. 2000; Real Estate Weekly, 46, 31, 15; Dialog File
148, Accession No. 11907784. cited by examiner .
Gentry "Preventive monitoring: constant monitoring of buildings as
they age, with fiber-optic sensors and computers, can extend their
life and lower their cost"; Oct. 1994; Progressive Architecture,
v75, n10, p. 96(4); Dialog File 148 Accession. 07581309. cited by
examiner .
Dialog "Peregrine Systems Introduces Fully Integrated Solution for
Facilities Management"; Oct. 1999; PR Newswire, p. 8824, Dialog
File 16, Accession No. 06689393. cited by examiner.
|
Primary Examiner: Jeanty; Romain
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Akerman Senterfitt
Claims
We claim:
1. An automated building service broker communicatively linked to a
plurality of building systems and to a plurality of service
providers, each service provider deemed suitable for performing
maintenance and repair on at least one of the building systems,
comprising: a Global Positioning System (GPS) data processor for
processing GPS data associated with the communicatively linked
service providers, said GPS data corresponding to a geographic
position; an event handler for responding to building system
maintenance and repair events received from the communicatively
linked building systems; and, a service provider selector for
selecting a particular service provider to respond to a particular
received maintenance and repair event received from a particular
communicatively linked building system, the selection being based
on (a) whether said selected service provider is suitable to
perform required maintenance and repair on the particular
communicatively linked building system, and (b) the geographic
position of the particular service provider relative to the
particular building system as reported by GPS data associated with
the particular service provider and wherein the service provider
selector is configured to query a selected service provider for a
current geographic position, to identify a geographic position
using Global Positioning System (GPS) data for said building
system, to compare said geographic position of said selected
service provider to said geographic position of said building
system, said comparison indicating how close said selected service
provider is to said building system, and to repeat said steps of
querying and comparing to determine whether said selected service
provider is traveling toward or away from said building system, how
fast said selected service provider is traveling toward or away
from said building system, and, based on whether said selected
service provider is traveling toward or away from said building
site and how fast said selected service provider is traveling
toward or away from said building system, to determine when said
selected service provider should arrive at said building
system.
2. The automated building services broker of claim 1, further
comprising: an event log for recording received building system
maintenance and repair events.
3. An automated building services broker system, comprising: an
automated building services broker comprising an event handler for
responding to building system maintenance and repair events, an
event log database, a maintenance database, a service provider
database, equipment database, and a historical database; a
plurality of building sites, each building site having at least one
building system including a control system for performing at least
one of monitoring a status of said at least one building system and
detecting anomalies therein, each building site communicatively
linked to said automated building services broken; and, a plurality
of service providers communicatively linked to said automated
building services broker, wherein each said service provider can
perform maintenance and repair on at least one of said building
systems, and wherein the service provider selector is configured to
query a selected service provider for a current geographic
position, to identify a geographic position using Global
Positioning System (GPS) data for said building system, to compare
said geographic position of said selected service provider to said
geographic position of said building system, said comparison
indicating how close said selected service provider is to said
building system, and to repeat said steps of querying and comparing
to determine whether said selected service provider is traveling
toward or away from said building system, how fast said selected
service provider is traveling toward or away from said building
system, and, based on whether said selected service provider is
traveling toward or away from said building system and how fast
said selected service provider is traveling toward or away from
said building system, to determine when said selected service
provider should arrive at said building system.
4. The automated building service broker system of claim 3, further
comprising: means for identifying geographic positions of said
service providers using Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
5. The automated building service broker system of claim 3, wherein
said control system can communicate with said automated building
services broker over said communications links between said
building site and said automated building services broker.
6. The automated building service broker system of claim 3, wherein
said control system monitors said at least one building system at a
location apart from a building site wherein said at least one
building system is located, and wherein said control system can
communicate with said automated building services broker over said
communications links between said building site and said automated
building services broker.
7. The automated building service broker system of claim 3, wherein
said communications link between said service providers and said
automated building services broker is a wireless link.
8. The automated building service broker system of claim 7, wherein
said wireless link is a pager-type communications network link.
9. The automated building service broker system of claim 3, wherein
said communications link between said building sites and said
automated building services broker is a data communications
network.
10. An automated building service brokering method comprising;
electronically detecting a need for service in a building system in
a building site; responsive to said detection, automatically
selecting a service provider suitable for servicing said building
system, said service provider selected from among a plurality of
service providers suitable for servicing said building system;
providing an electronic notification of said servicing need over a
communications link to said selected service provider; and,
monitoring said communications link for an electronic response to
said electronic notification querying said selected service
provider for a current geographic position, identifying a
geographic position using Global Positioning System (GPS) data for
said building site, comparing said current geographic position of
said selected service provider to said geographic position of said
building site, and repeating said steps of querying and comparing,
wherein said repeated querying and comparing can indicate whether
said selected service provider is traveling toward or away from
said building site, how fast said selected service provider is
traveling toward or away from said building site, and, based on
whether said selected service provider is traveling toward or away
from said building site and how fast said selected service provider
is traveling toward or away from said building site, to determine
when said selected service provider should arrive at said building
site.
11. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
further comprising: monitoring secondary communications links for
said electronic response.
12. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
further comprising: if no electronic response is received,
providing at least one additional notification to said selected
service provider.
13. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
further comprising: if no electronic response is received,
automatically selecting an alternate service provider suitable for
servicing said building system; providing an electronic
notification to said selected service provider, said alternate
service provider selected from among said plurality of service
providers suitable for servicing said building system; and,
monitoring said communications link for an electronic response to
said electronic notification from said alternate service
provider.
14. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
wherein said step of detecting a need for service in a building
system comprises: sensing an error condition in said building
system.
15. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
further comprising: maintaining a maintenance database for tracking
routine building system maintenance, said maintenance database
comprising at least one record which indicates a scheduled
maintenance event for said building system.
16. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
wherein said step of detecting a need for service in a building
system further comprises: sensing an error condition in said
building system.
17. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
wherein said step of selecting a service provider suitable for
servicing said building system comprises: querying suitable service
providers from among said plurality of service providers for
current geographic positions; and, based on said current geographic
positions, selecting a service provider who is geographically
proximate to said building site.
18. The automated building service brokering method of claim 17,
wherein said querying step comprises: requesting current geographic
positions from said suitable service providers; and, receiving from
said suitable service providers, said requested current geographic
positions derived from Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
19. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
wherein said step of providing an electronic notification
comprises: transmitting an electronic message to said selected
service provider through a computer communications network.
20. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
wherein said step of providing an electronic notification
comprises: transmitting an electronic message to said selected
service provider through a wireless communications network.
21. The automated building service brokering method of claim 20,
wherein said step of monitoring said communications link for an
electronic response to said electronic notification comprises:
receiving an electronic message from said selected service provider
through said wireless communications network.
22. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
wherein said step of monitoring said communications link for an
electronic response to said electronic notification comprises:
receiving an electronic message from said selected service provider
through said pager-type communications network.
23. The automated building service brokering method of claim 10,
further comprising: confirming that said selected service provider
has responded to said electronic notification.
24. The automated building service brokering method of claim 23,
further comprising: tracking statistics associated with said
confirmed response, said statistics comprising at least one of
service response time, arrival time, and service completion
time.
25. An automated building service brokering method comprising:
transmitting to an automated building service broker geographic
position data indicating a current geographic position of at least
one service provider; receiving an electronic request from said
automated building service broker to service a building system in a
building site, said electronic request being sent in response to a
maintenance event or error condition associated with said building
system; responding to said electronic request with an electronic
response, said electronic response being carried over a
communications link monitored by said automated building service
broker; transmitting additional geographic positioning data to said
automated building service broker after said step of responding
querying said service provider for a current geographic position,
identifying a geographic position using Global Positioning System
(GPS) data for said building site, comparing a current geographic
location of a selected service provider to said geographic position
of said building site, and repeating said steps of querying and
comparing, wherein said repeated querying and comparing can
indicate whether said selected service provider is traveling toward
or away from said building site, how fast said selected service
provider is traveling toward or away from said building site, and,
based on whether said selected service provider is traveling toward
or away from said building site and how fast said selected service
provider is traveling toward or away from said building site, to
determine when said selected service provider should arrive at said
building site.
26. The automated building service brokering method of claim 25,
wherein said transmitting steps comprise: receiving from a Global
Positioning System (GPS) receiver GPS data; and, transmitting said
GPS data to said automated building service broker.
27. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer
program for automated building service brokering, said computer
program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine
for causing the machine to perform the steps of: electronically
detecting a need for service in a building system in a building
site; responsive to said detection, automatically selecting a
service provider suitable for servicing said building system, said
service provider selected from among a plurality of service
providers suitable for servicing said building system; providing an
electronic notification of said servicing need over a
communications link to said selected service provider; monitoring
said communications link for an electronic response to said
electronic notification querying said selected service provider for
a current geographic position, identifying a geographic position
using Global Positioning System (GPS) data for said building site,
comparing said current position of a selected service provider to
said geographic position of said building site, and repeating said
steps of querying and comparing, wherein said repeated querying and
comparing can indicate whether said selected service provider is
traveling toward or away from said building site, how fast said
selected service provider is traveling toward or away from said
building site, and, based on whether said selected service provider
is traveling toward or away from said building site and how fast
said selected service provider is traveling toward or away from
said building site, to determine when said selected service
provider should arrive at said building site.
28. The machine readable storage of claim 27, further comprising:
monitoring secondary communications links for said electronic
response.
29. The machine readable storage of claim 27, further comprising:
if no electronic response is received, providing at least one
additional notification to said selected service provider.
30. The machine readable storage of claim 27, further comprising:
if no electronic response is received, automatically selecting an
alternate service provider suitable for servicing said building
system; providing an electronic notification to said selected
service provider, said alternate service provider selected from
among said plurality of service providers suitable for servicing
said building system; and, monitoring said communications link for
an electronic response to said electronic notification from said
alternate service provider.
31. The machine readable storage of claim 27, wherein said step of
detecting a need for service in a building system comprises:
sensing an error condition in said building system.
32. The machine readable storage of claim 27, further comprising:
maintaining a maintenance database for tracking routine building
system maintenance, said maintenance database comprising at least
one record which indicates a scheduled maintenance event for said
building system.
33. The machine readable storage of claim 27, wherein said step of
detecting a need for service in a building system further
comprises: sensing an error condition in said building system.
34. The machine readable storage of claim 27, wherein said step of
selecting a service provider suitable for servicing said building
system comprises: querying suitable service providers from among
said plurality of service providers for current geographic
positions; and, based on said current geographic positions,
selecting a service provider who is geographically proximate to
said building site.
35. The machine readable storage of claim 34, wherein said querying
step comprises: requesting current geographic positions from said
suitable service providers; and, receiving from said suitable
service providers, said requested current geographic positions
derived from Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
36. The machine readable storage of claim 27, wherein said step of
providing an electronic notification comprises: transmitting an
electronic message to said selected service provider trough a
wireless communications network.
37. The machine readable storage of claim 36, wherein said step of
monitoring said communications link for an electronic response to
said electronic notification comprises: receiving an electronic
message from said selected service provider through said wireless
communications network.
38. The machine readable storage of claim 27, wherein said step of
monitoring said communications link for an electronic response to
said electronic notification comprises: receiving an electronic
message from said selected service provider through said pager-type
communications network.
39. The machine readable storage of claim 27, further comprising:
confirming that said selected service provider has responded to
said electronic notification.
40. The machine readable storage of claim 39, further comprising:
tracking statistics associated with said confirmed response, said
statistics comprising at least one of service response time,
arrival time, and service completion time.
41. A machine readable storage having stored thereon a computer
program for automated building service brokering, said computer
program having a plurality of code sections executable by a machine
for causing the machine to perform the steps of: transmitting to an
automated building service broker geographic position data
indicating a current geographic position of at least one service
provider; receiving an electronic request from said automated
building service broker to service a building system in a building
site, said electronic request being sent in response to a
maintenance event or error condition associated with said building
system; responding to said electronic request with an electronic
response, said electronic response being carried over a
communications link monitored by said automated building service
broker; transmitting additional geographic positioning data to said
automated building service broker after said step of responding
querying said service provider for a current geographic position,
identifying a geographic position using Global Positioning System
(GPS) data for said building site, comparing a current geographic
location of a selected service provider to said geographic position
of said building site, and repeating said steps of querying and
comparing, wherein said repeated querying and comparing can
indicate whether said selected service provider is traveling toward
or away from said building site, how fast said selected service
provider is traveling toward or away from said building site, and,
based on whether said selected service provider is traveling toward
or away from said building site and how fast said selected service
provider is traveling toward or away from said building site, to
determine when said selected service provider should arrive at said
building site.
42. The machine readable storage of claim 41, wherein said
transmitting steps comprise: receiving from a Global Positioning
System (GPS) receiver GPS data; and, transmitting said GPS data to
said automated building service broker.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
(Not Applicable)
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT
(Not Applicable)
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the field of building automation and more
particularly to a system and method for automated building service
brokering.
2. Description of the Related Art
Large building complexes such as office buildings and warehouses
have various systems and devices that require monitoring, periodic
maintenance, and repair when problems arise. For example, building
air conditioning systems, smoke detection systems, fire alarm
systems, security systems, lighting systems, and medical
monitoring, each need to be monitored to ensure that each is
operating properly. Additionally, each system must be repaired when
problems arise and, generally, each system can require periodic
maintenance to ensure that the system is in working order in
addition to alarm notification.
Typically, building management professionals maintain maintenance
records which can indicate scheduled (preventative) maintenance and
routine repair. Such records can be used to remind building
management to schedule service providers to perform routine,
preventative maintenance and repair on the various building
systems. Moreover, when routine, preventative maintenance and
repairs have been completed, a maintenance record can be updated in
which the performed maintenance is noted as well as the date on
which the maintenance or repair was performed. Additionally, when a
building system experiences a failure, a service provider can be
contacted and alerted of the need for unscheduled repair (or alarm
condition). When the necessary repairs have been completed, a
repair record can be updated in which the performed repair is noted
as well as the date on which the repair or maintenance was
performed with this information archived in a data base.
Presently, such maintenance and repair records are created and
updated manually. Manually monitoring building systems for
scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and repairs can be a
complicated and time consuming task that requires intervention of
dispatching personnel. Similarly, scheduling required periodic
maintenance and unscheduled repairs for multiple building systems
can be even a more complicated and time-consuming task. These tasks
become even more difficult when multiple building or locations are
involved. Therefore, automating monitoring systems for multiple
building or locations can be useful.
Currently, various automated systems exist for monitoring building
systems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,514 to Bergeron et al.
for METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR DISPATCHING SERVICES discloses a
method and system for the dispatch of resources to remote sites in
response to alarm signals. More particularly, in Bergeron, a
control system can access a database of field service engineers
designated to provide services to particular remote sites in
response to alarm signals received from those sites. Subsequently,
the control system can repeatedly and sequentially attempt to
establish communications with designated field service engineers in
the database in order to request servicing of the detected alarm
signals.
By comparison, U.S. Pat. No. 5,920,846 to Storch et al. for METHOD
AND SYSTEM FOR PROCESSING A SERVICE REQUEST RELATING TO
INSTALLATION, MAINTENANCE OR REPAIR OF TELECOMMUNICATIONS SERVICES
PROVIDED TO A CUSTOMER PREMISES teaches an integrated system for
processing a service request relating to installation, maintenance
or repair of a local loop extending from a telecommunications
company central office to a customer premise. Significantly, the
Storch system can track the status of the service request, for
example whether line conditioning equipment was installed or
replaced.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,634 to Kinser et al. for COMBINATION
SYSTEM FOR PROACTIVELY AND REACTIVELY MAINTAINING TELEPHONE NETWORK
FACILITIES IN A PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE SYSTEM discloses a
reactive and proactive system for detecting and correcting network
facility faults and potential faults. Notably, the Kinser system
automatically authorizes and prioritizes service based upon service
requests and pre-defined criteria. Moreover, like the Storch
system, the Kinser system also can track the progress of a service
request.
Significantly, each of the Bergeron, Storch and Kinser systems has
various inherent limitations and problems. For instance, these
building system only respond to alarms and to diagnostic results
produced by diagnostic programs. The systems cannot be configured
to track and schedule the routine and preventative maintenance of
building systems. In addition, though some of these automated
systems, in response to detecting a system failure, can retrieve a
list of available service providers to perform the repair or
maintenance and can attempt to contact service providers
sequentially in the list, none of these automated systems can
attempt to determine which of the service providers have
technicians geographically proximate to where repair or maintenance
is required for the most expedient repair action.
Current automated systems also are limited in their ability to
contact the service providers once the appropriate service provider
has been located. Some of the existing automated systems rely
solely on standard telephone communications. Others rely on e-mail
or fax communications. Still, none of the existing automated system
include methods of communication which can consistently and
reliably alert a service provider of the need for repair or
maintenance of a building system in a timely manner. Finally,
current automated systems do not effectively track the status of a
repair or maintenance. Moreover, current automated systems do not
effectively track when a repair or maintenance has been completed.
Likewise, current automated systems do not archive historical data
as to the repair and maintenance for each building system. Thus,
present building automation systems are deficient in their ability
to monitor building systems, to selectively dispatch service
providers for performing routine, preventative and unscheduled
maintenance and repair, to track the progress of such dispatched
service providers, and to maintain records of such repair and
maintenance.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention is a method and system for automated building service
brokering. The present invention automatically monitors multiple
devices in multiple locations, locates and alerts services
providers to repair or maintenance needs. The present invention
further tracks the progress of the repair or maintenance, and
maintains a history log of the relevant information relating to
each device and each repair or maintenance request. In one
embodiment of the invention, an automated building service broker
can be communicatively linked to a plurality of building systems
and to a plurality of service providers. Each service provider is
deemed suitable for performing maintenance and repair on at least
one of the building systems.
The automated building service broker can include a Global
Positioning System (GPS) data processor for processing GPS data
associated with the communicatively linked service providers the
GPS data corresponding to a geographic position. The automated
service broker also can include an event handler for responding to
maintenance and repair events received from the communicatively
linked building systems. Finally, the automated building service
broker can include a service provider selector for selecting a
particular service provider to respond to a particular received
maintenance and repair event received from a particular
communicatively linked building system. More particularly, the
service provider can be selected based on whether the selected
service provider is suitable to perform required maintenance and
repair on the particular communicatively linked building system and
based on the geographic position of the particular service provider
(or group) relative to the particular building system as reported
by GPS data associated with the particular service provider.
Example of suitable service providers can include service providers
having multiple years of experience repairing a particular building
system, service providers specializing in the repair of particular
types of building systems, or service providers having speciality
certifications. In one aspect of this embodiment, the automated
building services broker can further include an event log for
recording and archiving received maintenance and repair events.
An automated building services broker system can include an
automated building services broker. The automated service broker
can have an event log database, a maintenance database, a service
provider database, equipment database, and a historical database.
The automated service broker also can include a table of the
geographic positions of particular building sites. The system also
can include a plurality of building sites, wherein each building
site has a plurality of building systems and is communicatively
linked to the automated building services broker. Notably, the
automated building service broker can be located in a particular
building site, or separate from the building sites. Finally, the
system can include a plurality of service providers communicatively
linked to the automated building services broker, wherein each the
service provider can perform maintenance and repair on at least one
of the building systems. In one aspect of the automated building
service broker system, the system can include means for identifying
geographic positions of the service providers.
Notably, each building site can include a control system for
monitoring the building systems in the building site, wherein the
control system can communicate with the automated building services
broker over the communications links between the building site and
the automated building services broker. In an alternative aspect of
the automated building service broker system, each building system
also can include a control system for monitoring the building
system, wherein the control system can communicate with the
automated building services broker over the communications links
between the building site and the automated building services
broker.
The communications link between the service providers and the
automated building services broker can be a wireline link.
Additionally, the communications link between the service providers
and the automated building services broker can be a wireless link.
Notably, the wireless link can be a pager-type communications
network link. Also, the wireless link can be a cellular
communications link. The communications link between the building
sites and the automated building services broker also can be a data
communications network.
An automated building service brokering method in accordance with
the inventive arrangements can include the steps of electronically
detecting a need for service in a building system in a building
site or receive input from building site occupant; responsive to
the detection, automatically selecting a service provider suitable
for servicing the building system, the service provider selected
from among a plurality of service providers suitable for servicing
the building system; providing an electronic notification of the
servicing need over a communications link to the selected service
provider; and, monitoring the communications link for an electronic
response to the electronic notification. Additionally, the method
can include the step of monitoring secondary communications links
for the electronic response.
In one aspect of the method, if no electronic response is received,
the method can further include providing at least one additional
notification to the selected service provider. Additionally, if no
electronic response is received, the method can include
automatically selecting an alternate service provider suitable for
servicing the building system; providing an electronic notification
to the selected service provider, where the alternate service
provider is selected from among the plurality of service providers
suitable for servicing the building system; and, monitoring the
communications link for an electronic response to the electronic
notification from the alternate service provider.
The step of detecting a need for service in a building system can
include sensing an error condition in the building system.
Alternatively, the detecting step can include receiving
notification from a building site operator. Notably, in aspect of
the method of the invention, the method also can include the step
of maintaining a maintenance database for tracking routine building
system maintenance, where the maintenance database includes at
least one record which indicates a scheduled maintenance event for
the building system. In this aspect of the method, the step of
detecting a need for service in a building system can include
identifying a scheduled maintenance event in the maintenance
database. Additionally, the step of detecting a need for service in
a building system further can also include sensing an error
condition in the building system. This error condition can be
manually provided by a building site operator.
The step of selecting a service provider suitable for servicing the
building system can include querying suitable service providers
from among the plurality of service providers for current
geographic positions; and, based on the current geographic
positions, selecting a service provider who is geographically
proximate to the building site. More particularly, the querying
step can include requesting current geographic positions from the
suitable service providers; and, receiving from the suitable
service providers, the requested current geographic positions
derived from Global Positioning System (GPS) data.
The step of providing an electronic notification can include
transmitting an electronic message to the selected service provider
through a pager-type communications network. Moreover, the step of
providing an electronic notification can include transmitting an
electronic message to the selected service provider through a
computer communications network. Finally, the step of providing an
electronic notification can include transmitting an electronic
message to the selected service provider through a wireless
communications network.
Likewise, the step of monitoring the communications link for an
electronic response to the electronic notification can include
receiving an electronic message from the selected service provider
through the pager-type communications network. Moreover, the step
of monitoring the communications link for an electronic response to
the electronic notification can include receiving an electronic
message from the selected service provider through the computer
communications network. Finally, the step of monitoring the
communications link for an electronic response to the electronic
notification can include receiving an electronic message from the
selected service provider through the wireless communications
network.
Significantly, the automated building service brokering method can
also include the step of confirming that the selected service
provider has responded to the electronic notification. Moreover,
the method can include the step of tracking statistics associated
with the confirmed response, wherein the statistics can include at
least one of service response time, arrival time, and service
completion time. The confirming step can include querying the
selected service provider for a current geographic position;
identifying a geographic position for the building site; and,
comparing the current geographic position of the selected service
provider to the geographic position of the building site. In
consequence, the comparison can indicate how close the selected
service provider is to the building site. Finally, the method can
further include the steps of repeating the steps of querying and
comparing. As such, the repeated querying and comparing can
indicate whether the selected service provider is traveling toward
or away from the building site, how fast the selected service
provider is traveling toward or away from the building site, and,
based on whether the selected service provider is traveling toward
or away from the building site and how fast the selected service
provider is traveling toward or away from the building site, when
the selected service provider should arrive at the selected
building site.
In another embodiment of the present invention, an automated
building service brokering method can include transmitting to an
automated building service broker geographic position data;
receiving an electronic request from said automated building
service broker to service a building system in a building site;
responding to the electronic request with an electronic response;
and, transmitting additional geographic positioning data to the
automated building service broker after the step of responding. In
this embodiment, the transmitting steps can include receiving from
a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver GPS data; and,
transmitting the GPS data to the automated building service
broker.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
There are presently shown in the drawings embodiments which are
presently preferred, it being understood, however, that the
invention is not limited to the precise arrangements and
instrumentalities shown.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a preferred embodiment of the
automated building service broker.
FIGS. 2A and 2B are schematic diagrams illustrating building site
configurations suitable for use with the automated building service
broker of FIG. 1
FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a process automatically
brokering building systems service requests in the automated
building service broker of FIG. 1.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is an automated building service broker. An
automated building service broker in accordance with the inventive
arrangements can detect in a building system a need for service,
either in response to a routine event or an error condition.
Service request may be triggered by building site diagnostics,
preventative maintenance routine, or an on-site operator via a
keypad peripheral. Whether triggered by routine scheduled
maintenance or a building system anomaly such as if the building
system fails in operation, the building service broker can retrieve
a list of service providers suitable for servicing the specified
building system. In particular, a service provider can be selected
from the list according to the geographic proximity of the selected
service provider to the specified building system. Subsequently,
the selected service provider can be notified of the event. The
notification further can include the building site location and the
nature of request. Additionally, the automated building service
broker can automatically record the arrival of the service provider
at the designated building site and can monitor the progress of the
selected service provider in performing the requested repair or
maintenance of the specified building system.
FIG. 1 illustrates a building automation system in accordance with
the inventive arrangements. A building automation system 100 in
accordance with the inventive arrangements can include a plurality
of buildings 110 communicatively linked to a building services
broker 120 through a data communications network 130. The building
services broker 120 also can be communicatively linked to one or
more service providers 140. Each building 110 can include therein
one or more building systems 112. Exemplary building systems 112
can include, but are not limited, to air-conditioning systems,
smoke detector systems, fire alarms systems, elevator/escalator
systems, security systems, medical monitoring, etc.
FIG. 2A illustrates an exemplary building 210A containing therein
building systems 212A which can be individually communicatively
linked to the data communications network 130. As shown in FIG. 2A,
each building system 212A can include a control system 214A. The
control system 214A can be used to monitor the status of building
system 212A and can detect anomalies therein. Upon detecting an
anomaly, the control system 214A can request from the automated
building service broker 120 corresponding maintenance and repair.
FIG. 2B illustrates an alternative exemplary building 210B
containing therein building systems 212B which can be
communicatively linked to the data communications network 130
through a central building control system 214B. The control system
214B can be used to monitor the status of each building system 212B
in the building 212B and can detect anomalies therein.
Additionally, the control system 214B can respond to both detected
anomalies by requesting from the automated building service broker
120 corresponding maintenance and repair.
Returning now to FIG. 1, the automated building service broker 120
can include a database of service providers 122. Each service
provider 140 listed in the database of service providers 122 can be
associated with one or more building systems 112. Preferably, each
building system 112 can have more than one associated service
provider 140 so that the building services broker 120 can select a
geographically suitable service provider from among many service
providers 140. The automated service broker 120 further can
maintain a maintenance database 124 in which preventative
maintenance and repair events can be logged or archived. The
automated services broker 120 also can log maintenance and repair
events in an event database 126 which also can reference the
location of the building site 112. Finally, the automated services
broker 120 can include a history database 128 in which the progress
of each requested repair can be tracked. Notably, the service
provider, event, maintenance and history databases 122, 124, 126,
128 are not limited to single databases and multiple databases can
be used to achieve the same end.
More particularly, each service provider 140 can include a Global
Position System (GPS) receiver 132 and a wireless communications
device 134 for providing data communications between the GPS
receiver 132 and the automated building services broker 120. The
GPS receiver 132 can be used to pinpoint the geographic location of
the service provider 140. The GPS data can be communicated to the
automated building services broker 120 either periodically or on
demand. Notably, the communications device 134 can communicate with
the automated building services broker 120 directly, for example
through a wireless communications network. Examples of such
wireless communications networks can include conventional cellular
networks (both analog and digital) and PCS networks such as
Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD) and Global System for Mobile
Communication (GSM), as well as two way pager-type networks.
In operation, the automated building service broker can maintain a
maintenance schedule for associated building systems. When the
maintenance schedule determines that maintenance is due on one of
the building systems, a maintenance record can be entered in an
event log database. Subsequently, the service provider database can
be consulted to identify a set of approved service providers for
providing the scheduled maintenance. The automated building
services broker can query each service provider in the set for a
current geographic position as reported by the GPS receiver
associated with each service provider.
Once the automated building services broker has determined the
geographic position of each service provider in the set, the
automated building services broker can determine which service
provider is geographically closest to the building system in need
of scheduled maintenance. As such, a group of service providers
deemed closest can be selected and a maintenance request can be
communicated to the selected service provider. The automated
building services broker can notify the selected service provider
of the maintenance request either electronically or manually. In
the electronic case, the automated building services broker can
communicatively connect to the selected service provider via well
known computer communications methods, for instance e-mail or
instant messaging (IM) technology. Alternatively, the selected
service provider can be notified by pager or by telephone.
Subsequently, a maintenance record can be written to the history
database indicating that a request has been sent to the selected
service provider to perform the scheduled maintenance for the
particular building system.
Alternatively, multiple service providers can be notified of the
maintenance request through a broadcast message. The broadcast
notification can include the building system at issue, the nature
of the event and the building site location, although the invention
is not limited in regard to the contents of the broadcast
notification. Subsequently, the service providers receiving the
broadcast message can respond with an estimated time of arrival
(ETA) at the building site. Based on the ETA, or other factors such
as geographic proximity or comparative suitability for performing
the requested service (compared to other service providers
receiving the broadcast message), a particular service provider can
be selected.
Notably, the automated building services broker can confirm that
the selected service provider has received and will respond to the
maintenance request. In particular, the selected service provider
can be required to respond electronically or manually. In one
aspect of the invention, the selected service provider can respond
with an ETA. In the case the selected service provider responds
electronically, the selected service provider can communicatively
connect to the automated building services broker through well
known data communications methods, for instance by providing
information through a Web interface, conventional client server
interactions, etc. Alternatively, the service provider can transmit
an e-mail to the automated building services broker which can be
automatically parsed and processed by an e-mail agent of the
automated building services broker. In the manual case, the
selected service provider can respond by telephoning an operator
having access to the automated building services broker, or by
paging or e-mailing the operator.
FIG. 3 is a flow chart illustrating a process in accordance with
the inventive arrangements for brokering a building service
request. Service requests can arise from routine scheduled
maintenance, maintenance arising from the results of diagnostic
testing performed on the building system, requests manually
initiated by a building site operator, or the detection of an error
condition in a building system. Accordingly, the process of
brokering a building service request can begin in any of steps 1, 3
and 12.
Turning first to the case where a need for building service arises
from routine scheduled maintenance, the process can begin in step 1
in which a maintenance database containing a maintenance schedule
is maintained in the automated building services broker. The
invention, however is not limited to the particular location of the
maintenance database and the maintenance database can be located
outside of the automated building services broker and accessed
remotely by the automated building services broker. The maintenance
database can contain store therein scheduled maintenance records
which can associate particular building systems in particular
building sites with scheduled maintenance events such that the
maintenance schedule for each building system in each building site
can be updated as required.
The automated building services broker can monitor the maintenance
schedule for each building and, when observing a due scheduled
maintenance event scheduled, in step 2 the automated building
services broker can enter an event record in an event database. The
event database can be used to store event records which correspond
to a routine service event, the results of a diagnostic test, or
the detection of an error condition. Like the maintenance database,
the event database can be situated locally in the automated
building services broker, or remotely in a distributed computing
arrangement.
In step 15, having detected a need for building service, a service
provider database can be consulted to identify those service
providers whom are deemed suitable for servicing the particular
detected need for building service. While any criteria for
determining the suitability of a service provider can be used, in
one aspect of the invention, the criteria can be expertise, cost
and the geographic proximity of the service provider to the
building site containing the building system which requires
service. More particularly, once a set of suitable service
providers has been identified in the service provider database, in
step 16, the service providers in the set can be queried to
identify a current position for each service provider.
Specifically, an electronic request for location can be transmitted
to each service provider, responsive to which the service providers
can retrieve from their respective GPS units current location data.
Subsequently, the service providers can electronically transmit the
location data to the automated building services broker.
The automated building services broker can receive the location
data and can compare the current locations of the service providers
with the location of the building site containing the building
system in need of service. The automated building services broker
then can select a preferred service provider not only according to
the distance separating the preferred service provider from the
building site, but also according to the route available to the
preferred service provider. More particularly, though a secondary
service provider can be further from the building site than a
primary service provider, the secondary service provider can have
access to a freeway en route to the building site, while the
primary service provider can only have access to rural roads.
In step 17, the preferred service provider can be selected and a
work request transmitted to the service provider. The work request
can contain the location of the building site and the nature of the
service request. Notably, the work request can be electronically
transmitted via alpha-numeric pager. More particularly, the work
request can be transmitted from the automated building services
broker through a two-way pager type communications network to a
two-way pager at the service provider. Still, the invention is not
limited in regard to the way in which the work request is
transmitted. Rather, in other aspects of the invention, the work
request can be electronically transmitted through a computer
communications network via instant messenger, e-mail,
connection-oriented communications (e.g. TCP/IP), or connectionless
communications (e.g. UDP/IP). Moreover, the work request can be
electronically transmitted via a telecommunications network in the
form of a direct notification (voice notification) or indirect
notification (e.g. voice mail). Notably, the voice notification or
voice mail can be digitally generated.
Following transmission of the work request, in step 18, a work
record can be created in a historical database in which historical
maintenance records can be tracked. Moreover, the automated
building services broker optionally can receive a confirmation
notification from the selected service provider. Optionally, the
confirmation notification can contain an ETA. Specifically, the
selected service provider can transmit an accept work request or
deny work request notification to the automated service broker
through the same communications channel used to transmit the work
request. In this way, the automated services broker can monitor the
communications channel upon which a work request has been sent in
order to confirm receipt of the work request and the acceptance or
denial of the work request. Still, the invention is not limited
neither in regard to whether a confirmation message is received by
the automated building services broker, nor the communications
method by which the confirmation message is transmitted to the
automated building services broker.
If the selected service provider fails to respond to the work
request, an additional work request can be transmitted to ensure
the receipt of the work request by the selected service provider.
Eventually, the non-response of the selected service provider can
cause the automated building services broker to select an alternate
service provider and the process can repeat. Also, if a deny work
request message is received from the selected service provider, the
work request can be transmitted to an alternate service provider.
Notwithstanding, the invention is not limited to the process for
confirming the receipt, acceptance or denial of a work request.
Moreover, as before, work requests can be broadcast to multiple
selected service providers. Depending upon the response of the
multiple service providers, a particular service provider can be
ultimately selected to perform the building system service.
In step 19, the automated building services broker can monitor the
progress of the selected service provider in performing the
required services on the building system. Specifically, the
automated building services broker can periodically identify the
geographic position of the selected service provider in order to
determine whether the service provider is traveling towards the
building site and at what rate. In step 20, when the selected
service provider arrives at the building site, an arrival time can
be logged in the historical database. In step 21, when the service
provider has completed the required work on the building system,
the service provider can transmit completion data to the automated
building services broker. Such completion data can include, for
example, the identify of the service provider, the diagnosed
problem, the implemented solution, the type and quantity of parts
used to perform the service, and the associated service charge for
performing the requested service.
In step 22, the completion data can be recorded in the historical
database. In consequence, the historical database can be
subsequently reviewed and analyzed to identify servicing trends for
particular building systems. Still, the invention is not limited to
the type of data recorded in the historical database. Rather, the
type of completion data to be stored in the historical database can
be customized to reflect the particular requirements of an
implementation of the invention. Finally, in step 23, the
maintenance schedule in the maintenance database can be updated to
reflect the completion of the scheduled maintenance on the building
system.
Notably, service requests can arise not only from routine scheduled
preventative maintenance, but also from the results of diagnostic
testing performed on the building system, from manual entry by a
building site operator, or the detection of an error condition in a
building system. Notably, diagnostic testing can be performed
periodically based on a real-time clock, or based on data in a
real-time accumulator. The test may be triggered by ran-time
accumulator or 365 day real time calendar clock. In step 3, the
process can begin wherein a diagnostic testing database containing
a diagnostic testing schedule is maintained in the automated
building services broker. The invention, however is not limited to
the particular location of the diagnostic testing database and the
diagnostic testing database can be located outside of the automated
building services broker and accessed remotely by the automated
building services broker. The diagnostic testing database can
contain store therein scheduled diagnostic testing records which
can associate particular building systems in particular building
sites with scheduled diagnostic testing events such that the
diagnostic testing schedule for each building system in each
building site can be updated as required.
The automated building services broker can monitor the diagnostic
testing schedule for each building and, when observing a due
scheduled diagnostic testing event, in step 5 the automated
building services broker can enter an event record in the event
database. Alternatively, an operator of the automated building
services broker can initiate a manual diagnostic test of a selected
building system in step 4. As in the case of schedule diagnostic
testing, in the case of manual diagnostic testing, the automated
building services broker can enter an event record in the event
database.
Subsequently, in step 6 a diagnostic testing signal can be
transmitted to the selected building system. The diagnostic testing
signal can indicate to the building system to initiate a diagnostic
testing routine. In step 7, the diagnostic testing routine can
exercise various elements of the building system in order to
determine whether any element requires servicing. In step 8, in can
be determined whether any elements of the building system failed
the diagnostic test. In step 9, if all elements of the building
system passed the diagnostic test, a "pass signal" can be
transmitted to the automated building services broker.
Subsequently, in step 10, the diagnostic data can be stored in the
historical database and in step 23 the diagnostic testing schedule
in the diagnostic testing database can be updated.
In contrast, if in step 8 it is determined that one or more
elements of the building system failed the diagnostic test, in step
11, an error code can be transmitted to the automated building
services broker. Notably, the error code not only can indicate that
the building system requires service, but also the error code can
include additional information, for example, the particular element
of the building system which failed the diagnostic test, or
particular data points produced by the diagnostic test. Upon
receiving the error code, the automated building services broker
beginning in step 15 can repeat the process of selecting a service
provider, notifying the service provider of the service request,
and monitoring the progress of the selected service provider.
Finally, in step 12, the process can begin wherein each building
system in a building site can be monitored. Through the monitoring
process, an error condition can be detected and reported to the
automated building services broker. Specifically, in step 13, upon
detecting an error condition in a building system, an error code
can be transmitted to the automated building services broker.
Notably, the error code not only can indicate that the building
system requires service, but also the error code can include
additional information, for example, the particular element of the
building system in which the error condition had been detected, or
particular data points which triggered the error condition. In step
14, upon receiving the error code the automated building services
broker can enter an event record in the event database. Finally,
the automated building services broker beginning in step 15 can
repeat the process of selecting a service provider, notifying the
service provider of the service request, and monitoring the
progress of the selected service provider.
The foregoing description of a preferred embodiment of the
invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and
description, and is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the
invention to the precise form disclosed. The description was
selected to best explain the principles of the invention and their
practical application to enable other skills in the art to best
utilize the invention in various embodiments and various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. It
is intended that the scope of the invention not be limited by the
specification, but be defined by the claims set forth below.
* * * * *